Friends, siblings, fellow OPSEU/SEFPO members,
I’m running to be re-elected as your President because I believe deeply in what we’ve built together – and in what we must continue to build.
When I first stepped into this role, OPSEU/SEFPO was at a crossroads. Members wanted a union that didn’t just talk about power, but actually shared it. A union that organized and trained members, showed up to bargaining ready to fight, and protected dues so they were used for workers – not insiders.
Over the last four years, that’s what we’ve worked to do.
Together, we trained more than 100,000 members to participate in bargaining. We organized thousands of new members. We took strike action when we had to – and we won better deals because we were prepared and united.
We also made hard choices. Exposing corruption wasn’t easy. It wasn’t comfortable. But protecting members’ dues and restoring trust matters more than protecting anyone’s position – including my own.
Here’s what I believe, at my core: no other worker is our enemy.
We don’t all have to agree on everything. We come from different sectors, generations, communities, and perspectives. But when we organize around our shared interests – good jobs, fair wages, safety, dignity, and security – we are incredibly powerful.
That belief has guided my leadership.
And it’s why I’m asking for your support again.
In the next three years, we can go a lot further.
We can make sure every unit entering bargaining is fully trained and prepared. We can strengthen cross‑sector and cross‑union ties so employers and the government can’t divide us. Using our existing membership centres, we can launch community-based organizing schools, including family camps, so union knowledge is passed down, not locked up.
And we can develop a sustainable plan to turn our existing properties into community spaces and housing for workers – because people can’t do their best work if their basic needs aren’t met.
This election isn’t about me as an individual. It’s about the kind of union we want to be.
A union where power flows outward, not upward. A union that fights hard at the bargaining table. A union that protects dues and uses them for members.
If you believe in that kind of OPSEU/SEFPO, I’d be honoured to earn your vote – and to keep building it with you.
In solidarity,
JP Hornick
